Congratulations To Carenna- 2nd Place in Art Competition

Carenna Receiving her Ribbon-July 17, 2010

Carenna "Queen Cat" drawing above won second place at the California State Fair Youth Art Competition. It will be featured in the Fair this summer. She also received honorable mention for her Candyland drawing. Carenna will be 7 years old next month(May 14) and is in First Grade. The competition was opened for youth ages 5 to 12. I am very proud of my youngest granddaughter accomplishments. Like Mother, Like Daughter as the saying goes. Congratulations, again, my Pangga!

Ditas Katague Appointed Chief Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Corporation, State of California

Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments ( April 21, 2010)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the following appointments:

Ditas Katague, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy commissioner for the Department of Corporations. Since 2008, she has been director for Census 2010 in the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. Previously, Katague was the first vice president of state and local governmental affairs for Countrywide Financial Corporation from 2005 to 2008, program director for California Telemedicine and eHealth Center from 2004 to 2005 and senior program manager for Blue Shield of California from 2003 to 2005. Prior to that, she was the assistant secretary for transportation and project management at the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency from 2000 to 2003 and chief deputy director for the Complete Count Census Campaign from 1999 to 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $118,000. Katague is a Democrat.

Greg Aghazarian, 45, of Stockton, has been appointed deputy secretary for legislation and special assistant to the secretary for the Department of Food and Agriculture. Since January, he has owned Aghazarian Strategies and, from 2009 to 2010, he served on the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Aghazarian served three terms in the California State Assembly representing the 26th district from 2002 to 2008 and was Republican Caucus Chair in 2006. He owned the Law Offices of Gregory G. Aghazarian from 1997 to 2002 and worked as an attorney for the Law Offices of David R. LeBeouf from 1993 to 1996. This position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $115,000. Aghazarian is a Republican.

Koren Barrett, N.D., 37, of Corona Del Mar, has been appointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board. Since 2007, she has served as a naturopathic doctor at Newport Integrative Health. Previously, Barrett was a naturopathic doctor at Susan Samueli Center, University of California, Irvine from 2008 to 2009 and at the Institute for Progressive Medicine from 2004 to 2007. She is a member of the Sanesco International Advisory Board, American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and California Naturopathic Doctors Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Barrett is a Democrat.

Leonard Greenstone, 86, of Sherman Oaks, has been reappointed to the Prison Industry Board, where he has served as a member since 2001 and previously from 1983 to 1994. Since 1953, he has owned and operated the Leonard Greenstone Company. From 1966 to 2003, Greenstone owned and operated Under Sea Engineering and Construction. From 1967 to 1992, he worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as a sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Greenstone was the director of Alliance Bank from 1978 to 1991. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Greenstone is a Democrat.

Curtis Kelly, 52, of Vacaville, has been reappointed to the Prison Industry Board, where he has served as a member since 1995. He has been the northern district manager for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council since 2005, where he previously was a business representative from 1988 to 2005. Kelly was a carpenter for the Carpenters Local 180 from 1977 to 1988. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Kelly is a Democrat.

Michael McCulloch, 53, of Palm Springs, has been reappointed to the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority, where he has served as a member since 2008. Since 1987, he has owned and managed McCulloch and Company. McCulloch served as a councilmember on the Palm Springs City Council from 2003 to 2007. Previously, he was a tax manager for Grant Thornton Certified Public Accountants from 1984 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. McCulloch is a Republican.

Peggy Okabayashi, 62, of Elk Grove, has been appointed assistant secretary of public safety, victims services, emergency management and administrative services for the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA). She has served as acting assistant secretary in this role since 2009 and previously was deputy director of the Administrative Services Division at Cal EMA in 2009. Prior to that, Okabayashi was deputy director of the Administrative Services Division for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services from 2006 to 2008. She worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles, Business Services Branch as chief from 2004 to 2006 and manager from 2001 to 2004. Okabayashi served as manager for the Information Services and Reporting Unit for the Franchise Tax Board in 2001, chief of the Management Services Branch for the Office of Real Estate Appraisers from 1994 to 2001 and auditor at the Employment Training Panel from 1992 to 1994. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $106,020. Okabayashi is a Republican.

Janice Oliphant, 74, of Indian Wells, has been reappointed to the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority, where she has served as a member since 2005. She was a real estate broker for Palm Desert Realty from 1978 to 2009. Oliphant is president emeritus of Marywood Country Day School Board and the Indian Wells Garden and Community Club. Additionally, she is vice chairman of the California State University, Palm Desert Capital Campaign Committee, member of the Coachella Valley Lincoln Club and the Coachella Valley Women Leaders Forum Advisory Board. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Oliphant is a Republican.

Joseph Provenzano, D.O., 55, of Modesto, has been reappointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, where he has been a member since 2006. He has served as a family medicine doctor of osteopathic medicine at Sutter-Gould Medical Group since 1990. Previously, Provenzano served as an emergency room physician at Fisher-Mangold Emergency Physicians from 1988 to 1990. Prior to that, he was physician-resident in family medicine at Southwestern Medical School from 1986 to 1988 and at the University of Texas, Conroe Family Practice from 1983 to 1985. Provenzano is an elected delegate to the House of Delegates for the California Medical Association and the California Academy of Family Practice House of Delegates for 2009 and 2010. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Provenzano is a Republican.

Margo Reid Brown, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed director for the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery, where she has served as acting director since January. She served as chair of the Integrated Waste Management Board from 2006 to 2009. Brown previously served as director of scheduling for the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2004 to 2006 and was founder and president of Capitol Ideas Development Corporation from 2002 to 2004. From 1999 to 2000, she served as president of the Junior League of Sacramento and, from 1991 to 1999, was the director of scheduling for the Office of Governor Pete Wilson. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,965. Brown is a Republican.

James Shelby, 63, of Citrus Heights, has been appointed to the Gambling Control Commission. Since 1996, he has been a member of the Citrus Heights City Council, where he served as mayor in 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009. Shelby was president and chief executive officer for the Greater Sacramento Urban League from 1992 to 2009. Prior to that, he was manager of employee relations and executive assistant to the general manager for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District from 1990 to 1992. Shelby was senior apprenticeship consultant for the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards from 1977 to 1990. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Shelby is a Democrat.


Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

As her DAD, I am very proud of Ditas accomplishments. I wish her luck in her new appointment. Congratulations again, my palangga number 1.

My Grandson First Rock and Roll Original Music

I think this music is too loud for my taste. So, I must be getting old. But I am proud of my grandson accomplishments. Philip is the son of Dodie Katague, my oldest son. The family resides in Walnut Creek, CA. Here's a 2 minute video for your listening displeasure or pleasure.

Reviews of Cloyne Court from Amazon Books

Book Cover

I found the following reviews of my son's first book, Cloyne Court from Amazon very interesting. I just finished reading the book and I found it worth my time. His reference to his parents in the book is true, except for the fact that during our student days, although we were poor, we never ask for food stamps. We did reside in a student housing subsidized by the county. Also during my son's graduation, the family visited Cloyne Court and I found it dirty, but the place has a charm of its own. Some rooms have beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Happy Reading!

A) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy times at Berkely, December 29, 2009
By S. Davidian (Ohio, USA, Earth)

I read this during its development and told DK much of it sounded unbelievable. He confessed that he was actually toning down much of what really happened - probably to protect the innocent!

If you like the movie Animal House, and have any interest in the going-ons of College in the 70s, or Berkeley in particular, you're also going to love this book.


B) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, January 15, 2010
By Lori Cianfichi "Steve Cianfichi" (Walnut Creek, CA USA)

This novel, which I compare to The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart by Robert Westbrook, follows our hero Derek as he enters UC Berkeley as a freshman until he graduates with less than honors. It's no surprise, as he is living at and experiencing life at Cloyne Court, the Sodom and Gomorrah of any college living situation. Sex, Betrayal, Drugs, Rock and Roll, nudist, co-ed showers, and the politics of the house make for a novel that has to be read. I really enjoyed this book. (Adult themed subject matter.)

C) 4.0 out of 5 stars A rite of passage, February 24, 2010
By Celia Hayes "Sgt. Mom" (San Antonio, SA)
Billed as a kind of real-life `Animal House', this books is more of a nostalgic memoir-novel about living in an all-gender-and-orientation cooperative residential house in Berkley, after the flower-power generation had moved on. Derek Marsdon has just turned 18, commuting from his family home and wrestling with incomprehensible academic courses.

Spurred by an impulse and the advice of an odd and witchy old woman he sees on the train going home one day, he moves into a college residence - and thereby takes the first steps onto the necessary path of becoming something a little more than a teenager: this is not so much an account of four years of carefree pranks, debauchery and substance abuse with a little academic enrichment squeezed in between - but a rambling account of how a young man first encounters the larger world, that world outside the shelter of a family, establishing an identity of our own, something beyond just being a son or a daughter, an extension of our parents. This is where we first encounter straight-on such things as the pitfalls of sexuality and sexual attraction, of individual responsibility, of coping with a bureaucracy, the randomness of fate, coping with people very, very different from ourselves, where we first cope with love and unrequited devotion, junk furniture with a strange history, tasty adult beverages . . . and being caught up in a student demonstration when all we really needed to do was turn in some necessary paperwork. Not to mention that strange camaraderie that arises when you spend a great deal of time with other individuals in an odd environment, where everyone knows the rituals and the place, as well as the importance of seemingly inconsequential things.

Derek wanders through those undergraduate years, feeling some of the pains and disappointments - but always with a steady and observant eye, and a whole heart. The author has a fond and unerring eye, and no little sympathy for those years - which now and again, may have been rather embarrassing for the adults who emerged from the antics of their college years, especially if they now have near-adult children of their own. There is something about those first years which keeps a hold on us for the rest of our adult lives, though; sometimes wince-making, and sometimes brushed with the golden highlights of nostalgia, something which the writer has caught very well.


D) 4.0 out of 5 stars I wish I had as much fun as Derek did in college, February 15, 2010
By Genoa Dillon "book addict" (Billings, MT)

After reading Cloyne Court I realized how much fun I could have been having when I was instead working and doing homework! I graduated from a small liberal arts college that did not have student housing opportunities that the author did. I also realized that the generation above me did party and do naughty things, probably even more than I have so far. I guess I have some catching up to do.

One of the things that surprised me about this book is the amount of homophobia presented in the novel. I've grown up in an environment where people I think feel free to be "out" so it was scary to realize how closeted the men had to be just 30 years ago.

When I was done with the book, I remarked to my husband that I won't think about a plate of brownies again in the same way!

I recommend this book for anyone that has gone to college, or plans to go to college, or thought about going to college. Also for anyone who knows someone who went to college, because that buttoned up shirt wearing respectable man might have some stories to tell.


E) 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read!!!!!!!, April 12, 2010
By L. Couture (California)

I found this book to be an AMAZING, page turning read. It is a coming of age novel set in the 1970's at CAL Berkeley, and therefore has the accompanying sex, drugs and rock and roll that one would expect, however the main character's story is a heart wrenching account of first love from a man's perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone mature enough to handle the strong sexual content. The only part I didn't like was the soothsayer lady at the beginning and end - I think she was too much. However, I would encourage anyone off-put by that part to continue on, since the rich story is very much worth it in the end and leaves you dreaming of college days, and thinking about taking a drive to Berkeley to see the real Cloyne Court.

F) 5.0 out of 5 stars A fine memoir and a read well worth considering, April 3, 2010
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
When you have two genders of college students close to each other, you're in for something interesting. "Cloyne Court" is a memoir from Dodie Katague reflecting on the time where the campus goes co-ed and he tells a story that is sure to entertain any of those who enjoy a good story of the world of the fraternities and sororities. " Cloyne Court" is a fine memoir and a read well worth considering.


G)
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a Biased Book Review, January 8, 2010
By Lloyd Lofthouse "Lloyd Lofthouse, author, 'My... (USA)
Disclaimer: I am the publisher. You know, the guy that spent endless hours building Cloyne Court's Website, editing, copy editing, proofing, doing page layouts, working with the artist on the cover design, and shepherding the author's work through the publication process to the market place where readers may buy it.

Does that mean I'm biased? Well, I didn't write the book, and I'm not related to the author. I didn't even know the author before I first read his work. What I did was pay the author for the privilege to publish his work, because I believe Cloyne Court is worth the time and money put into it. I also expect to get that money back and make a profit. That's how much confidence I have that this "creative" memoir will find an audience. Here's the answer to the question that starts this paragraph--Yes, I'm biased, After all, I enjoyed reading this book more than once and laughter is medicine for the dark side of life. If you decide to buy Cloyne Court and read it, I hope you enjoy Katague's story as much as I have, and since I'm biased, I can't give it the five out of five stars that I believe it deserves.

I wrote the blurb that's on the back cover, because I felt it represents what you will find between Cloyne Court's Covers.

"All it takes is one kiss to transform animals into horny princes. In 1946, the 'real' all male 'Animal House' was born when Cloyne Court become a student co-op. In the 50 & 60s, the "beasts" waged war with the Berkeley Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, an athletically oriented fraternity. That feud ended when Cloyne's archenemies moved across campus. However, the real story begins when Cloyne Court went co-ed in 1972 with the arrival of sixty-two women. Katague's sexy, reveal-all memoir takes place in the late 70s, soon after the women moved in."

Humor is subjective. Writing that will make one person laugh will cause another person to throw the book in the fire while twisting their face into a tangled knot as if they has been bit by a snake. Fortunately, I laughed often as Cloyne Court worked its way through the publishing process from editing to printing.

Back to the disclaimer that started this review: I haven't been paid to write this review. I haven't been paid for any of the work I've done on Cloyne Court unless you count the profit from the first six books sold after Cloyne Court hit the market near the tail end of December 2009--a few days before New Year's Eve. As a matter of fact, last night and this morning, I spent more time and money mailing out five copies to The Saroyan (literature) Prize, and one copy to ForeWord Magazine for a possible debut fiction review.

So, if Amazon deletes my review for Cloyne Court, I will understand.

Warning: Cloyne Court is rated "R" for adult material. This is not a filtered fantasy.


Cloyne Court by Dodie Katague (Paperback - December 8, 2009)
$15.95 $12.44
In Stock: 16 used & new from $8.95

Again, I hope you purchase Cloyne Court. Happy Reading, From the GrandPa Blogger!

Book Review of The Cloyne Court by D Katague

Here's a review of my son's first book by Celia Hayes. Hope you purchase his book.
http://www.facebook.com/l/b689d;www.cloynecourtnovel.com
Cloyne Court by Dodie Katague
(Three Clover Press / 0-981-95533-9 / 978-0-981-95533-9 / December 2009 / 328 pages / $15.95 / Amazon $11.48)
Reviewed by Celia Hayes for PODBRAM

"Cloyne Court is billed as a kind of real-life Animal House – a nostalgic memoir-novel about a rollicking all-gender-and-orientation cooperative residential house in Berkeley in the late 1970s, after the flower-power generation had moved on to something resembling an adult life practically everywhere else. Derek Marsdon has just turned 18, a college student, commuting from his family home and wrestling with incomprehensible academic courses – and much else besides.

Spurred by an impulse and the advice of an odd and witchy old woman he sees on the train going home one day, he decides to move into a college residence – and thereby takes the first steps onto the necessary path of becoming something a little more than a teenager. Cloyne Court is, as I interpreted it, not so much an account of four years of carefree pranks, debauchery and substance abuse with a little academic enrichment squeezed in between – but a rambling account of how a young man first encounters the larger world, that world outside the shelter of a family. Going to college, joining the military, or generally moving out into the world of work on our own is the time when most of us are establishing an identity of our own, something beyond just being a son or a daughter, an extension of our parents. This is where we first encounter straight-on a lot of things: all the pitfalls of sexuality and sexual attraction, of responsibility for ourselves, of coping with a bureaucracy which (if we let it!) would control our adult lives, and the randomness of fate. We encounter people very, very different from ourselves on a great many levels, we first cope with love and unrequited devotion, acquire junk furniture with a strange history, taste adult beverages, and get caught up in a student demonstration when all we really needed to do was turn in some necessary paperwork. All these things happen, not to mention that strange camaraderie that arises when you spend a great deal of time with other individuals in an odd environment, where everyone knows the rituals and the place, as well as the importance of seemingly inconsequential things.

Derek wanders through those undergraduate years, feeling some of the pains and disappointments – but always with a steady and observant eye, and a whole heart. One senses that he came through as a complete and secure adult – and that the author had an unerring eye and no little sympathy for those years – which now and again, may have been rather embarrassing for the adults who emerged from the antics of their college years, especially if they now have near-adult children of their own. There is something about those first years which keeps a hold on us for the rest of our adult lives, sometimes making us wince, and sometimes brushed with the golden highlights of nostalgia, something which the writer has caught very well".

As a frustrated writer myself, I am indeed very proud of my son's accomplishment.